One of those was Laurie Berkner. I think the very first song I ever heard of hers was "Rocketship Run" (still one of my favorites). But where my kids and I really fell in love with her was at our little music class. There, week after week, class after class, her song, "We are the Dinosaurs" was requested over and over again. All the kids loved to march around the room, stopping to pretend to eat and sleep and ending with a huge gigantic roar.

Interestingly though, I didn't discover who the artist was until one of my friends recommended Laurie Berkner as one of their favorites. I checked out a couple of her albums from the library, and I was thrilled to discover "We are the Dinosaurs" and "Rocketship Run" among the songs. (This also happened to be during Christmastime, so we checked out Laurie's Christmas album, and it went on our "must buy" list almost instantly.)

Anyway, I'm telling you all of this because soon after the children's music post went up, I was contacted by Laurie Berkner's publicist to see if I'd be interested in receiving her two latest albums: The Ultimate Laurie Berkner Band Collection and Laurie Berkner Lullabies. I had already been planning a Favorite Music Albums: Part 2 post (still in the works), and Laurie Berkner was going to be one of the featured artists. Of course I said yes.

We have been enjoying them immensely ever since. We are the kind of old-school family who still own a CD player (actually, two), and I hope we never have to give it up because it's so easy for my kids to operate. And operate it, they do. They have been popping in Laurie's CDs, cranking up the volume, and dancing to her music all around the house. Our favorite songs (from these albums) are "Walk Along the River," "The Cat Came Back," and "Fireflies."

We love Laurie's music because it's vibrant and exciting without being obnoxious or cheesy. (One of our requirements for children's music is that is has to be appealing to the kids and the adults in our family, and Laurie Berkner's music is.) The Laurie Berkner band is made up of Laurie and three other fantastic musicians (Susie Lampert, Brady Rymer, and Bobby Golden). Their sound is both unique and classic, and what I mean by that is that
it's distinct enough you'd recognize it anywhere, but
it's also something that has a lasting, tried-and-true quality about it; I can definitely see my kids sharing it with their kids someday.

Many of the songs Laurie sings are original compositions, and she just seems to get kids. She understands their interests, their senses of humor, and their imaginings. Her songs cover a wide range of topics, as evidenced by her latest project: six digital albums of already released songs grouped by categories: animal songs, food songs, movement songs, etc. I believe they'll be available in June.

I also had the privilege of doing a little interview with Laurie as I prepared to write this post. Her answers were so genuine and thoughtful, and I'm excited to share them with you. I hope you enjoy getting to know a little bit more about Laurie Berkner:

Who is one of your favorite children's artists? Who inspires you?

It's
hard to pick a favorite chidren's artist, there are so many good ones
these days! We have actually been listening to a lot of The Beatles in
our home again recently, and I always get inspired all over again
hearing their music. I am also really inspired by listening to kids and
what they say. They are the most natural poets, and they talk about
the kinds of things I want to sing and write about. Also, while this
may not have been your question exactly, as far as other children's
artists go, my biggest inspiration is Brady Rymer [the bassist in her band]. Getting to know him
as a person and a musician has been one of the highlights of my career.
He is really such a wonderful and talented human being who is always
thinking about that connection with the kids. I feel inspired by him
every time we play, rehearse or record together.One of my
children's favorite songs of yours is "We are the Dinosaurs." We sang it
for many weeks in a row at a little music co-op we participated in with
a group of friends, and even when it wasn't on the agenda for the day,
the children would still make us sing it. Even though it is not included
on these most recent albums, can you tell us a little bit about what
inspired that song?

That
song was one of the first ones that I wrote after asking the kids in my
music class what THEY wanted to sing about. It was so brilliant when
one of them yelled out "dinosaurs!" I just started playing a marching
beat in a minor key and making up words. Soon it got pretty exciting -
so exciting that there was a lot of roaring and yelling, so I added
parts where the kids could eat and sleep in between and hopefully hold
off until the end where the roaring actually is part of the song! Over
the years I saw how this song gave the kids a chance to express feelings
in school that they weren't usually encouraged to express, specifically
acting big and strong and powerful and angry.

Are any of your favorite songs from your childhood represented on your albums?

"The
Cat Came Back" was absolutely one of my favorite songs. I recorded
that on my first album. As I wrote more and more of my own songs, I
found that I wasn’t recording as many traditional songs but, of course I
still had many favorites!! I am actually in the process of recording
some of them right now for an album I’ll be releasing later this year.
Stay tuned! [Super excited about this!]

What do you like to do besides sing?

I love to ride my bike, I love to knit, I love cooking and reading about food, and I love reading with my daughter.

Do you have any
tips for how to incorporate music into daily life with kids? (I'd love to
hear about how you do this with your own daughter, if you feel so
inclined.)

Listening to music together, especially if
you are dancing or singing along, is a great way to share music with
your kids (and it lets them know you are actually enjoying it along with
them). I also love to make up songs about anything we are doing --
standing in line at the store, walking to school, playing in the
sandbox, cooking dinner (one caveat is that this gets less acceptable to
do in public as your kids get older!) or make up rhyming games that we
play at the dinner table. And don’t forget about going to musical
performances! Kids' concerts, musicals, orchestra performances, church
choirs, there are so many ways to experience music as an audience member
with your kids. Often, seeing people perform live is extremely
inspiring to a budding musician.

Many, many thanks to Laurie Berkner for taking the time out of her busy schedule to answer those questions. I'd love to hear about your favorite Laurie Berkner songs in the comments!

I was provided with copies of The Ultimate Laurie Berkner Band and Laurie Berkner Lullabies from Waldmania to review. All opinions are my own.

1 comment:

Our nanny introduced us to We Are the Dinosaurs, and now my kid will NOT STOP singing it. He even uses a ukulele as a pretend guitar and acts out all the actions Laurie does in the music video. I haven't heard any of her other stuff, so we'll have to check these albums out.

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My name is Amy. I read to myself, my five young sons, and occasionally, my husband. I read to relax, be inspired, and learn new things. And I talk about what I read to just about anyone who will listen...that's you!

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